


The Heart's Path

by Crystal_Ieris, Rikusgirl1



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, F/F, F/M, Kingdom Hearts III Spoilers, M/M, Slice of Life, Yaoi, Yuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2019-11-26 09:27:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18178850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystal_Ieris/pseuds/Crystal_Ieris, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikusgirl1/pseuds/Rikusgirl1
Summary: After Vanitas get them kicked out of school again, Sora and his siblings are sent to the boarding school, Scala Ad Caelum by their parents. Thrust into a new life and sorted into a house that Sora doesn't think he should be in,  the three must find their own ways in the school.





	1. Stairway to Heaven

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: There are spoilers for KH3 in this story, they will pop up as soon as this very first chapter, spoilers are mostly just to the side, but they are still mentioned so putting this warning.
> 
> Ieris: Hey everyone! Thanks for reading this story. I hope you all will enjoy! It's been a while since Alice and I have worked on a story together, especially a KH story, and most of our older stories are back on FF.net. While we are working on rewriting and transitioning our older stories over here, we decided it'd be nice to have a fresh, clean start with this story.
> 
> Alice: I'm glad Ieris dragged me back into writing for this, and I hope you all enjoy it. We're writing it differently to how we wrote stories together in the past, and I think it works much better this way.

Sora stared out the window at the ocean below and the other islands connected to where they were heading. The last time he had been to an ocean-side city it had been nowhere as big as these island communities. Then again it had been years since his family had moved from Destiny Islands to Radiant Gardens, so his memory could be a bit skewed. The ocean looked so clear, though, and he felt the urge to just dive right on in; he had always loved the water.

The cable car rocked gently with the wind, and Sora glanced over at his sister to see how she was doing. Xion had been worried when they first arrived at the station, questioning how safe of a transport cable cars were to islands. Their grandfather had only laughed and joked about it being better than the alternative of boats. Xion looked a bit jittery as the wind rocked the car, but she seemed to at least be enjoying the view from the side she had sat on.

Sora smiled softly before glancing back at their brother, who had taken the very last seat and was laying down on it. Sora couldn't tell if he was asleep from where he sat, for all he knew Vanitas was probably glaring holes into the ceiling. The black haired boy seemed to think if he tried hard enough he could burn a hole through things or people. Sora was glad he couldn't or otherwise the cable supporting them would have snapped as well.

“What?” Vanitas snapped after Sora stared at him for a bit.  
Sora resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Just checking on you.”  
"I don't need you checking on me. You're just as bad as mom."

Sora huffed and slumped in his seat as he looked away from the other boy. Xion shot him a reassuring smile before Sora just turned to look back out the window. Slowly he could make out some of the features of the academy's main island, such as the white stone buildings and streets, as the cable car slowly reached the end of the line. Though the view was soon cut off as they entered the station and Sora sighed before standing once the car had docked.

As the triplets stepped off the car, their stuff was already being unloaded by one of the station hands. Leaning on the wall near the loading strips exit was a tall man wearing all black. Sora noticed he had long raven hair, with streaks of dark grey running through it, and was watching them intently through his single eye. Sora shivered as he noticed the other was covered by an eyepatch.

"Do you think that's…" Xion paused as she pulled out the instructions they were given for their journey to once again read it. "Mr. Luxuria?"  
“Who cares?” Vanitas spoke up as he grabbed his stuff and began to head to the exit.  
“How long do you think this school will last?”  
Sora grabbed his bags from the attendants and handed Xion hers. "With luck, it'll only be him that gets expelled this time. Still can't believe I got expelled because of him."  
The two began following the oldest triplet, and Xion glanced at her brother. “How do you think I feel? I didn’t get kicked out, mom and dad just thought it’d be better to send us all to the same place.”  
“Probably hoping you can keep Vanitas out of trouble, your the only one he even remotely listens to.”  
"Even then it's very rare that he does so…" Xion agreed with a sigh.  
“Will you two stop talking and hurry up? I want to get this stupid thing over with.”  
“Oh don’t be like that.” The man spoke as he pushed off the wall, grabbing the triplet’s attention. “We’re going to have lots of fun!”  
"You're one of those teachers that think school is all sunshine and rainbows and fun, aren't you?" Vanitas asked as he glared at the older man.  
The man chuckled. "As if! But I do know how to keep things interesting, especially for troublemakers like you."

The man smirked as he locked eyes with Vanitas before examining Sora and Xion as well. After a moment he turned and waved his hand for them to follow as he headed out of the station. The triplets walked after the man, Vanitas eventually falling back to the back of the group as Xion hurried to keep up.

“You’re Mr. Luxuria?” She asked as she fell into pace behind the man.  
“Were you expecting someone else poppet?” The man asked.  
Xion jerked at the nickname. “Poppet?”  
“Anyways, yeah I’m him. The vice principal of the school, you’ll be dealing with more often than not if there are any problems.”  
“What about the headmaster?” Sora asked, glaring at the man’s head for the nickname he called his sister.  
"The headmaster? Oh, you mean MoM. He doesn't see anyone unless he wants to. I don't expect any of you will catch his attention anytime soon."  
“You call your headmaster mom?” Vanitas spoke with a chuckle.  
"Well Master of Masters is a mouthful to say, and frankly it's annoying also. So we shortened it to MoM, and by we I mean his first students. You all are merely expected to call him headmaster." Mr. Luxuria spoke up. "Now as you all probably know this is the main campus. You'll take all your classes here. The levels of the island are split into the grades. Our academy accepts students as young as four years old. Though, our pre-school and kindergarten classes are stationed in Daybreak Town and are only for residents of the town. Grades Tenth through Twelfth, which is where you all will be attending, take up the fifth and sixth levels.”

Sora glanced up towards the top of the island as they turned and began to walk up the central staircase. The streets were surprisingly empty of people, but he supposed it was the weekend, so the students were probably at their dormitories. He noticed that the man spoke quickly and with little interest, and didn't point out any of the buildings as they walked to the top of the island. In fact, that was the first time he even pointed out a specific structure when they reached the tower at the top.

"This is where you will find all the teachers If you have no reason to be here then don't be here simple as that." The vice-principle explained. "Now I will be leaving you in the entrance hall where you will meet your Dormitory Prefects."  
"Thanks for that helpful tour," Vanitas muttered.  
“Did you want more of a tour?” The man said as he smirked at Vanitas.

Vanitas just rolled his eyes and looked away from the teacher, and Sora noticed the man smirked before waving them inside. The entrance hall was large, with banners hanging from the walls depicting various symbols, though most looked like animals. There was a desk at the very end of the entrance hall, with two grand staircases on either side. Three figures stood at the desk, talking amongst themselves as the man walked closer to them.

“Here you three go.” He stated to the group before beginning to make his way up the stairs.

The three didn’t seem too fazed by the man’s words or attitude, but they did stop their conversations to turn to the triplets that stood a little ways away from them. Sora looked away from the vice-principle and back to the trio in front of them. The tallest of the group had short, pink hair cut into layers that framed his face and kind blue eyes, he stood close to the only girl of the group. He was dressed in a simple white dress shirt with a black vest over it and bright purplish-pink jeans. The girl next to him had long blondish-orange hair that came to her shoulders before being tied into separate pigtails, and her green eyes smiled kindly at them. She wore a simple white dress with black ribbons on the detached sleeves and top of the dress and black straps. The final member was a young boy with greyish-white hair and a welcoming smile that reached his turquoise colored eyes. He wore a plain white dress shirt under a short black jacket, with a red scarf around his neck and dark grey jeans.

“You’re the Leonhart triplets?” The shortest boy asked.  
Sora nodded. “I’m Sora, and this is my sister, Xion, and our brother-”  
“Vanitas.” The oldest triplet snapped, glaring at the other boy.  
The boy didn't seem fazed as he continued to smile. "I'm Ephemer, the Unicornis Prefect, and these are my friends, Strelitzia," He pointed to the girl, and then the taller boy. "And Lauriam."  
“Nice to meet you. I’m the Leopardus Prefect.” Lauriam greeted with a smile and a quick wink.  
“I’m from Vulpes. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Strelitzia finished with a quick bow of her head.  
“We’ll be giving you a tour of the dorms and the grounds.” Ephemer began.  
"The real tour," Lauriam emphasized with a chuckle.  
Ephemer playfully rolled his eyes. “Sora, you’ll be with me as you’ve been assigned to Unicornis.”  
Strelitzia looked at Vanitas with a smile, “You’ve been assigned to Vulpes, so I’ll be your tour guide.”  
“Whatever.” Vanitas looked away uninterested.  
Lauriam frowned at that, looking at the girl in concern. “You sure you’ll be okay with that one?”  
Strelitzia gave him a reassuring smile. “Of course!”  
"If he gives you any trouble you let me know." The pink-haired guy stated, not caring if the triplets heard.  
Ephemer held back a laugh as Strelitzia gave him a stern look. “I don’t need you protecting me all the time!” She turned to Xion as she said that. “Don’t mind my overbearing brother there. He’ll be taking you through the Leopardus dorm. Anyways we should get these tours started, right?”  
Strelitzia glanced at Ephemer for confirmation, and the boy nodded in agreement. “Right, Sora follow me.”

Sora glanced at Xion and gave her a reassuring smile before following the other boy towards a door to their left. He was a bit surprised to see Strelitzia following them and Vanitas reluctantly falling into place behind her. As they walked through the door, they were in a large hallway that curved around to the right, and a door was directly in front of them as they entered the hall.

Ephemer headed down the hall to the right, glancing back at Strelitzia as she headed towards the door. “See you later, remind Brain to meet us for the meeting.”  
“I will.” The girl promised before motioning Vanitas to follow her out into the streets.  
Sora turned confused eyes to Ephemer who smile assuringly. "Each of these doors in this hallway leads to one of the main streets that will take us to the dormitory cable stations. Your sister will be leaving directly through the door on the rightmost side."  
“I see.”  
Sora glanced at another door that they passed on the left as Ephemer began to talk. "Unicornis is made up of students that participate in academic leadership programs, such as student council. So for that reason, we take a lot of students that have interests in politics, or have experience running school clubs or working on their school councils."  
“I think there is some mistake then...I’m not really leadership quality…” Sora spoke up as they neared a door at the very top of the hallway before it curved back around.  
"We also look for certain personality traits. I don't know exactly why you were chosen for Unicornis, but you were put in this house for a reason, I can tell."  
Sora shifted a bit nervously, “Uh...thanks...I guess…”

Ephemer smiled reassuringly before exiting through the door and back onto the city streets. Sora followed, listening to the other boy as he continued to explain the school, particularly the main island.

~

Strelitzia had felt confident as she was waiting for the new students in the main hall, but as she walked through the corridors towards the station leading to the Vulpes Dormitory, her self assurance started to wane. She risked a glance back at the boy who introduced himself as Vanitas. He didn't seem all that interested in her or anything for that matter. At least he wasn't staring at her with those intense golden eyes of his. Instead, he seemed to be lost in his thoughts. Rumors had been buzzing around the school about the three new students who were enrolled after the cut off date had long past. Strelitzia never liked rumors, nor enjoyed spreading them, so she tried to ignore those conversations when they were brought up.

Almost as if sensing her eyes on him, Vanitas’ attention snapped to the orange haired girl in front of him. “What?” He asked in a curt tone.  
“Oh, nothing.” She stammered, offering an apologetic smile. “I just wanted to, officially, welcome you to our school.” She continued to look back at him as they walked, getting closer to the cable car station. “ I’m sure you’ll like it here. Master Ava, the head of Vulpes House, is the kindest person you’ll ever meet. And everyone else is-”  
Vanitas, who had quickly lost interest in her little speech, suddenly interrupted when he focused his attention back on her. “Hey, maybe you should-” but before he could finish Strelitzia walked straight into a column. They had reached the station which had decorative white marble columns placed along the platform. The girl stumbled back and almost on instinct he reached out to steady her. “As I was saying, maybe you should watch where you’re going.” He finished, not hiding his amusement.

She straightened herself up quickly and looked away to hide her face as it started to turn scarlet. "Right, um… thank you." She said, not knowing what else to say out of embarrassment. She heard him chuckle, which didn't help her feel any better. "We should get on the car before it leaves." She added and began to walk towards the waiting doors as fast as she could without sprinting. Vanitas followed her without a word, and the two rode in silence for the first few minutes of the journey.

Vanitas seemed content with the silence and opted to stare out of the window instead of making any attempt at small talk. Strelitzia, however, had recovered from her earlier embarrassment and wanted to try to get to know him a little. She kept glancing from him to the window of the car and back, trying to think of what to say. Evidentially this annoyed him as after a while he turned his cold eyes to her and asked, "What?"

"Well…" She began and nervously twirled one of her pigtails between her fingers. "I was just wondering if you had any questions? I'm not just here to show you around, but also to help you with settling in and the like."  
Vanitas stared at her a moment as he leaned against the side of the car. "Okay, here's a question. The other two said they were Prefects. That means they have some power here at the school, right? What about you? Did they just send some random girl to pick me up?"

His words were cold, but Strelitzia didn't let it get to her. "Oh, our old Prefect graduated, and so we're waiting for the next to be chosen." She answered with a smile. "Everyone believes it will either be me or Brain, but he--"  
"Wait, _Brain_?" Vanitas interrupted her and laughed. "Is his name really _Brain_?"  
"Well… yes, it is." She didn't really know how to respond, so she waited for him to stop laughing before she continued with her last thought. "He wasn't really interested in welcoming new students, so I volunteered instead."  
"Lucky me." He replied rather sarcastically and looked back out the window. "Okay, next question. What's the deal with these ‘Houses' or whatever they're called, and why were the three of us separated?"  
This one was a much easier question to answer, which relaxed her a little. "There are five different Houses here, and each represents different core skills and values. Each one is designed to nurture the innate talents of the students. Our House, Vulpes, is kind of a… mixed bag. Students who don't know what they want to do, or even have many things they like or are good at, end up here."  
"So, we're the leftovers the school doesn't know what to do with?" Vanitas asked without looking away from the window. There was a bitterness in his tone that made Strelitzia flinch.

  
"I wouldn't say that." She insisted. "Vulpes is very relaxed, so it's easy to find something you like or are good at. As for your brother and sister… they went with Lauriam and Ephemer, so they are in Leopardus and Unicornis. Leopardus is for more creative types like artists or writers. Unicornis is for students who show great leadership qualities."  
He thought about that with a frown and finally looked back at her and asked, "And which one went where again?"  
Strelitzia put her finger to her lip as she remembered who followed who. "Your sister went with my brother to Leopardus, and your brother went with Ephemer to Unicornis."  
"Sora? A leader?" Vanitas scoffed but didn't say anything more. It seemed he had met his limit of sharing for the time being. Strelitzia didn't mind and watched out the window as they reached the dormitory. Sure he seemed a bit rough and cold, but she didn’t feel he was a bad person. Maybe she could help him open up a little. Whatever happened to bring the three siblings to Scala ad Caelum didn’t matter to her, just that they were there now and in need of some new friends.

~

Xion looked around the entrance to the courtyard of the Leopardus dorm. It was pretty basic; the lawn was nicely kept with benches scattered around the walkways. She did notice that there were posts scattered around the grounds, each blank but having information for that specific plot of land such as size.

“What are these for?”  
Lauriam paused and returned to her side. "As I mentioned earlier, Leopardus is the House of Artists. Our dormitory starts off pretty barren of decorations, just the basics and we are allowed to fill it up as we see fit. Now, of course, there are rules we must abide by, for instance, these posts. A student is allowed to request a certain space, and if after a week no one else requests it, it is given to the first student to ask. If multiple students want a spot, we hold a vote between the dormitory residents."  
“So is that only out here?”  
Lauriam laughed. "No the walls on the inside are barren of paintings or any sort of artwork. We're allowed to decorate the halls as we see fit. Now, of course, I, and Master Gula do have regulations we must follow such as certain aspects being not allowed in certain areas. Such as pieces with nudity aren't allowed in the lower halls where the students younger than high school reside. We do not wish to restrict creativity, so we try and work around as best we can. Oh also the Dorm Library, we do have a section for stories written by the dorm residents. We keep works from previous years and just keep adding to the collection. The school also occasionally buys copies of our graduates who publish books to fill the library as well."  
“Really?” Xion asked excitedly as she looked at Lauriam, eyes almost sparkling.  
Lauriam laughed at her excitement. "Looks like I found where I will take you first after we stop at your dorm room of course."  
“Please!” Xion exclaimed with a small squeal, really excited.

Lauriam laughed again before leading her inside the dormitory. The walls were all a pale yellow at the top, before becoming a dark grey after the wall medium, with a light tan carpet covering the floor. The stairs were dark brown wood, and two sets of stairs lead up to the next level.

"The first floor houses the cafeteria," Lauriam began pointing to the right side of the main entrance which had two doors that lead into what looked like a lunch area, before pointing to the closed doors on the left side, "And the lounge. The lounge closes at nine, and students are expected to return to their rooms, and the cafeteria stops serving dinner around eight. By the way, if you like working in the kitchen, you can generally get permission from the cooks to use it as long as you clean up after yourself."  
“I understand.”  
Lauriam headed to the stairs and paused and pointed down the rest of the entrance hall. "Down that way is the library, and we do have some study rooms along the hall before then as well that you can check out from the librarian. We generally have a student who acts as the librarian, if you'd be interested let me know."  
“Yes!”

Lauriam laughed at her enthusiasm again before leading her up the stairs. Xion followed, a bit disappointed that she wouldn’t get to see the library immediately. She was tired of carrying her bag with her though, so she didn’t mind. The second floor had several hallways that intersected and led to many other rooms.

“These are our practice rooms, or art rooms, whatever you want to use them for when creating if you don’t want to use your room. You will have to check out a room, and each section has a little board that you can put your name on and be respectful of times. There are a lot of students, and we don’t want one student to take up a single room for the entire day.”

The second floor was designed similarly to the first floor, and there were two stairs cases on either side of the wings. Lauriam began heading up one of the stairs, waving for Xion to follow him.

"Girls and Boys have their own wings in the dormitory, and we do have Male and Female dorm leaders to do bed checks. I am the dorm leader for the boys since I am the Prefect. Refia is the girl's dorm leader. Generally, I am not allowed up here except to speak with Refia, which her room is the first one." Lauriam pointed to the first door they came to as they entered the floor. "But since I am giving you the tour we will be quick."

Xion followed Lauriam as he went up another floor, though she did take notice of where Refia’s room was. As they reached the next level, Lauriam began leading her down the hall. Xion counted the numbers of the doors as they walked, 201...202...203…until they stopped in front of room 214. The plaque next to the door read ‘Iris Amicitia and Xion Leonhart’. Lauriam gave her a reassuring smile and handed her a key to the room. Xion smiled, though she felt a bit nervous as she moved to unlock the door, knowing this would be the first step to her new life. She slipped the key into the lock and slowly turned it, wondering what lay behind the door.

~

Riku sat in the courtyard of the Unicornis Dormitory with a book in his lap, though he wasn't paying much attention to the words on the pages. His back was to the great stone fountain in the center of the yard, which was home to a majestic and meticulously detailed statue of a unicorn. It was carved from the same white marble as the fountain, and for eyes, it had perfectly shaped sapphires that seemed to gleam as if it were a sentient being. The refreshing smell of the water relaxed him and reminded him of his childhood spent on the beach. Aside from the gurgling fountain and occasional bird call from the well-trimmed trees dotting the area in a symmetrical pattern, the grounds were quiet. It was the last real day it would be so peaceful; once the term started the courtyard would become a favorite spot for students to relax and study. The silver-haired boy enjoyed his solitude while it lasted.

Riku's thoughts were broken when someone held a blue popsicle in front of him. He blinked his aqua blue eyes in confusion for a moment and looked up to see who had snuck up on him. Another boy, slightly older with long blue hair, stood beside him holding ice cream in both hands. "Oh, Isa," Riku said in mild surprise before taking the treat offered to him. "What's with this?"  
"Lea's idea of making friends, it seems," Isa answered while he moved to sit beside him on the bench. "When I scoffed at him he gave me two and told me to try it myself."  
“So you gave to me? Well, I’m flattered.” Riku chuckled and took a small bite of the frozen treat. Salty, yet also sweet. “Not sure sharing it with your roommate is exactly what he meant, though.” He teased lightly.  
“He would not have been satisfied had I simply handed it out to a stranger and walked away, which I was tempted to do. You were the next best option.” Though his words seemed cold, there was a slight smile on his lips to show he was teasing back.  
“In that case,” Riku held up his popsicle, “here’s to being the next best option.”

Isa shook his head in amusement but held his up as well and lightly tapped the two together as if they were clinking glasses. As Riku took another bite, his eyes scanned the courtyard and briefly through the windows into the hallways beyond. That was when he spotted Ephemer, the prefect of Unicornis, walking with an unfamiliar boy behind him. His brown hair was spiked in all directions, and he looked around them as if this were his first time seeing everything. With a brow raised in interest, he nudged his roommate. "Hey, I think we have a new kid. But didn't they finish the tours for all the new students a while ago?"  
Isa glanced at Riku before he turned his head to where the other was gesturing. His green eyes narrowed slightly when he spotted whom he was referring to. "Yes… I had heard there were a few students who were unexpectedly enrolled, but…"  
“But?” Riku encouraged him, not taking his eyes off of the pair in the hall.  
“I also heard the reason for their late entry was due to some… trouble at their old school.”  
“Trouble? What kind of trouble?”  
"A fight, supposedly, or multiple. Because of this, they were expelled. Strange to see one of them ended up here in Unicornis." Isa observed.  
“Strange…” Riku echoed in agreement. He continued to watch them until the new student glanced out the window towards the courtyard and met his gaze. His eyes were strikingly blue, almost like the sapphires in the fountain statue or perhaps like the ocean on a peaceful summer day. They didn’t seem like the eyes of someone who would get expelled from school for starting a fight. Before he could be accused of staring, Riku looked down at his ice cream. This was going to be an interesting year.


	2. Meetings of Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life at the academy begins as the students assemble to hear the welcoming speech of the Master of Masters as the triplets begin to settle into their new lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ieris: I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter! It has felt so good to get back into writing Kingdom Hearts stories, it was almost all I wrote on FF.net. I thank you all for reading this story and hope we can keep you entertained.
> 
> Alice: I agree, it's good to be back. And thanks for sticking with the story!
> 
> Thanks to those who left kudos: TheFaeDemon, Pastelise, MissLightBright, rosemoondrop13, Mek_Night, IvoryMinx, and kyuun_chan as well as 12 guests.
> 
> Thanks to those who left comments: Kyuun_chan.

The top tiers of Scala ad Caelum were home to the teachers and staff of the academy, and at the top of this was a large building that towered over the rest of the island like a cake topper. This was the home of the five Heads of House, the Deputy Headmaster, and finally the Headmaster himself. Usually, the Deputy Headmaster, Xigbar Luxuria, handled most of the day to day business of the school, but the Headmaster was the one in charge of deciding which House each student was placed into. This was why Ira stood before the door to his office with a student file in his hand. After taking a deep breath he knocked on the door.

“Enter.” The Headmaster’s voice called from the other side in an overly dramatic tone.

Ira briefly shook his head and opened the door. “Master Superbia,” he greeted as he stepped inside. The office was spacious with a high ceiling and a large stained glass window that overlooked the rest of Scala ad Caelum. Books were scattered about here and there, not just stacked on shelves but also piled on tables and desks. The Master himself stood with his back to Ira. He was dressed in a sharp black suit with matching, shined black dress shoes. “I was hoping you had a moment to talk about something.” Ira continued as he walked towards the desk that stood between the two of them.

The Master did not turn around, but he did hold his arm out to his side and gestured with it while he spoke. “Of course you did. Not like you’d come all the way up here just to say ‘hello, how are you doing?’ is it?” His voice mimicked Ira’s briefly and then switched to a comically sad tone. “No one ever does.”

“Ah… Master?” Ira asked in confusion, raising an eyebrow at his eccentric boss.

After a few seconds, the Master began to laugh and turned to face the Head of Unicornis. “I’m kidding, kidding! Man, you’re so serious.” When he finished laughing he cleared his throat and gestured to the file in Ira’s hands. “Now, tell me what’s troubling you.”

Glad that Master Superbia let him get down to business, Ira set the file on the desk in front of him. “It’s about the new arrivals, the ones from Radiant Gardens. Specifically, the one you assigned to my House.” He reached to open the file, but the Master swiped it up off the desk before he could.

“Ah, right. Sora Leonhart.” The Headmaster leafed through the papers in the folder, not paying much attention to any of them. “Cool sounding name, huh? Wish I had a name like that. What about him?”

No matter how prepared Ira thought he was, he was always caught off guard by his boss’ carefree nature. He had to clear his throat before he could continue. “I simply wanted to confirm if you were sure he belongs in Unicornis. Nothing in his records show-”

He was cut off when The Master raised a hand as if to silence him. “Have I ever been wrong, Ira?” He asked simply, his slitted blue eyes twinkling in the lamplight.

The other man was momentarily stunned, but then answered, “Not… that I can recall, but-”

“Exactly! So, therefore, I’m sure.” The Headmaster interrupted again in a dismissive tone and threw the file back onto his desk. It slid across the wood and nearly fell off the other side if Ira hadn’t caught it in time.

“Yes, but…” The Head of Unicornis tried to protest, but it seemed Master Superbia was already done with the conversation. He had stepped back to gaze out the window again, and so with a resigned sigh, Ira continued, “Very well. I’ll see you later at the Welcoming Ceremony, then.”

“ _Ciao_!” The Master replied with a wave of dismissal without turning around. “Oh, and don’t forget to smile once and a while, will ya?”

“Right…” Ira straightened the file in his hand and turned to leave the room. The meeting had accomplished nothing, yet at the same time, he hadn’t really expected it to.

~

Ventus sat at the large round table in the student council office, flipping through the pages of the dormitory rule book. He must have read it more than a hundred times since he arrived at the school. Though this copy was the newest, and a special edition specifically for the prefects of the dormitory. When Master Aced had reached out to him when he had returned to the school, he had been surprised that he had been chosen as the new prefect.

“Are you doing all right Ven?” A voice asked as the door to the council office opened.

Ventus turned and looked over at Ephemer as he walked into the room. “Just nervous, I still don’t understand why I was chosen as the new prefect.”

Ephemer went to say something before another voice interrupted him. “Oh, grow a backbone. You’re a leader now, so act like one.”

Ventus frowned as Brain entered the room, Strelitzia following behind him looking a tad put out at the boy’s words. He didn’t have much time to dwell on it before he felt a hand pat his head, messing up his blonde spikes. He felt a smile return to his face at that as he looked up at one of the three returning Prefects.

“You’re no pushover Ven, and you’re kind to everyone. Give it a week or two and you’ll probably be everyone’s favorite prefect.” Lauriam assured him with a smile, the older boy’s sister seeming a bit more relieved at her brother’s words as well.

“Well said.” Skuld, a girl with long black hair spoke up as she took a seat at the table, “Acting as Prefect means more than just making sure everyone follows the rules. It takes a good heart and kindness.”

Ventus watched as she shot a glare at Brain after she finished speaking. Ephemer patted her on the shoulder and gave her and the others a kind smile as he took his seat to her left. Lauriam moved to his chair as well and sat down next to Ephemer on the boy’s left. The three of them looked so calm and confident in their positions of prefects, but then again they were the three that had been prefects the year before as well.

Ephemer began talking about a few new regulations as Skuld passed out important documents to each of them. They made sure that Ventus knew to give a copy of the papers to the girl in charge of the girl’s side of the dorm. As he listened he couldn’t help but notice how serious Ephemer looked, yet he was still the same caring guy Ventus had first met last year, giving each of the newcomers a reassuring smile and a promise to help them in any way. Ventus could understand why this boy had also risen to the rank of Student Council president this year over Aqua and several other older students.

“Remember after the ceremony is when the Extracurricular Festival begins.” Ephemer reminded them. “I expect everyone to be present for their shifts at the Student Council table. The goal of the festival is to have fun and just interact with the student body. Please help out at your own respective clubs and to also get to know those in your houses.”

The prefects nodded in agreement before beginning to gather their stuff to head towards the assembly hall for the welcome ceremony. Ventus took a deep breath as he stuffed his things in his bag and began to head towards the door. A hand on his shoulder made him pause and he turned to see Ephemer standing next to him.

“Don’t let Brain get to you, what Lauriam said is definitely true. I think we have a great year ahead of us with you now on board.” the older boy smiled at Ven as he spoke.

Ventus nodded and gave him a nervous smile back, face slightly red at the praise. “Thank you.”

“Ven! Eph! Let’s go or we’ll be late!” Lauriam called from down the hall.

“Coming!” Ephemer called out, before patting Ventus once more and hurrying towards the others.

Ventus smiled and moved to catch up to them, a smile on his face as he joined his new group of friends. Lauriam and Ephemer talked about something excitedly as Lauriam’s arm was wrapped around his sister’s shoulders.  Skuld added a few comments, but walked towards the back, giving Ventus a happy smile as he caught up. Brain walked a few steps ahead, not really interacting with them, but near enough to not be completely ignoring them. Overall it was a good group to belong too, and Ventus hoped to learn a lot from all of them.

~

Riku watched students slowly trickle inside from where he sat in the back of the large auditorium. Chairs had been arranged in different sections with colored banners representing the five Houses. He glanced up to the Unicorn emblem above his own section before glancing over the rest of the hall. From the entrance to his left, the order was Anguis, Vulpes, Ursus, Unicornis, and on the far right was Leopardos. The stage in front of him was massive and usually used for the various plays put on by the students every year. Today, however, it was going to be used by the Headmaster to give an inspirational speech to the students like he did at the beginning of every year. A podium sat center stage, and on the wall behind it was a giant stained glass window that reached all the way up to the ceiling. There were more tall windows to either side of this piece to let the light in. During the day it was a beautiful sight, if impractical for lighting stage productions.

Riku felt someone sit down next to him, so he turned to see Isa had joined him. With a slight smirk, he asked, “What, no ice cream this time?”

“Ask Lea if you really want some.” The blue-haired boy replied back in a bored tone. “Apparently that trick of his already landed him a few first-year friends.”

“Don’t doubt the power of ice cream, Isa.” Riku laughed and shook his head. At that moment he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Pulling it out he saw he’d gotten a text in the Triple Triad Club group chat. It was just a reminder from the president to meet up at their booth after the ceremony, so he quickly replied he’d be there and put his phone away again.

Suddenly he felt an arm wrap around his shoulder and pull him towards Isa. “Hey, you guys aren’t plotting something without me, are ya? Sitting all the way back here,” a familiar voice asked, and though Riku couldn’t see him he knew he was grinning. Apparently, while he’d been distracted, a certain redhead had snuck up on him and Isa and now held them both in a headlock.

“Without you? Not possible.” Isa replied while he pushed Lea off of him and straightened his tie. The Unicornis uniform was a light gray blazer with a darker gray tie and matching pants.

Lea, by contrast, was wearing the Ursus uniform: a tan blazer with a light yellow tie and darker brown pants. With a laugh, he shifted to sit down next to Isa and said, “Good. It wouldn’t be a good plan without me, anyway. Got it memorized?” He pointed to his head while he said this, earning an eye roll from Isa.

Riku tuned out of the conversation at that point as Lea continued on about what he did over the break. He went back to watching the students as they came in, noticing there were a lot more flowing in than before. By now even the Prefects had arrived and were helping new students find their sections. Ephemer was standing in front of the Unicornis section, cheerfully greeting his peers.

“I know that look.” Lea was saying as Riku turned his attention back to the two next to him. The redhead was nudging Isa and grinning, much to the blue-haired boy’s annoyance. “Why don’t you go talk to her?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Isa crossed his arms in front of him and looked up at the ceiling. Was it Riku’s imagination, or was he blushing?

Lea didn’t miss a beat. “I know, I’ll go over and talk to her for you.” He suggested, still grinning and obviously finding his friend’s current embarrassment amusing. “Don’t worry, I’ll put in a good word for you.”

“Just go to your own section before you get us in trouble,” Isa told him with a huff and gave him a dismissive wave.

Lea shook his head but didn’t seem discouraged by it. “She’s not going to notice you if all you do is stare like a creep, you know.” He said and stood up with a stretch.

“Noted,” Isa said dryly and glanced across the room at the Anguis section. This time Riku tried to pay attention to whom he was looking at. It seemed his eyes were on the Prefect of Anguis, Skuld, a girl with long black hair. Her uniform consisted of a matching sky blue blazer and skirt with a lighter shade of blue ribbon instead of a tie like the boys wore.

Now it was Riku’s turn to tease Isa. He nudged his blue-haired classmate playfully and said, “You know, her and Ephemer seem to be _really_ good friends.”

“Good for them,” Isa replied quickly and coldly, crossing his arms over his chest and turning towards the opposite end of the room as the Anguis section.

Lea just laughed and briefly clasped Isa’s shoulder. “Well, when you’re done playing coy and decide you wanna make your move, let me know. We all know I’m the people person in this group.”

Isa sighed and shrugged Lea’s hand off his shoulder dismissively. Riku and Lea laughed, and the redhead bid the two farewell as he went to join his friends in his own House. Riku shook his head in amusement and once again returned to people watching as he waited for the ceremony to begin.

~

Sora followed his roommate, a quiet boy named Neku, across the courtyard as they headed to the auditorium, groups of students from the various houses all around them. As they approached the auditorium he noticed booths set up in the various courtyard areas, students helping to set things up and several quickly fumbling to gather their blazers and ties to head to the ceremony. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket as they neared the entrance and quickly pulled it out, smiling as he saw a text from his girlfriend back in Radiant Gardens.

**Kairi:** _How’s the new school? You’ve been quiet since you left._

**Sora:** _I don’t know what to think about it...classes haven’t even started yet._

**Kairi:** _I wish that was the case for us, we started yesterday. Already the teachers are talking all about the coming tests and how this isn’t middle school anymore._

**Sora:** _You’ll do great! You always were the smartest kid in our classes, you’ll be at the top before you know it._

**Kairi:** _Thanks, ^_^. How’s dorm life? You and Vanitas sharing? Still can’t believe you got kicked out because of his stupidity._

**Sora:** _Actually we’re all in different dorms, they’re all kind of set-up by like what we want to do in life or something. It’s weird...I don’t think I’m suited for my dorm at all._

**Kairi:** _What’s your dorm like?_

**Sora:** _Apparently it’s for like leaders or those who want to lead...totally not my thing...almost wish I had been put with Vanitas, his house seems more like me._

**Kairi:** _I’m sure you’ll adjust soon enough, and if it doesn’t work out and they expect too much ask for a transfer?_

Sora smiled at that as he read her last message, beginning to type into his phone when Neku called out to him. He pulled his attention from the device and saw they were at the auditorium, Neku having raised an eyebrow at him, but his face masked what he was feeling. His headphones had disappeared into his bag sometime since they arrived.

“You need to check in with Ephemer so he knows you made it.”

Before Sora could respond Neku had already disappeared into the crowded auditorium, leaving Sora on his own at the entrance. Sora sighed as he felt nerves settling in his stomach before turning back to the device.

**Sora:** _TTYL, Welcome Ceremony is starting! <3_

He quickly shoved the phone into his pocket and looked around the auditorium for Ephemer. He felt himself growing nervous as he glanced around, not sure where to start looking. There were so many people, and he cursed his luck for getting his mother’s height. A lot of the people towered over him and made it hard to find anyone. As he made his way through the crowd, trying to spot Ephemer, he saw the banners hanging at the back of the building. He found the one for Unicornis and figured that’d be a good place to start. He made his way along the front end of the auditorium, weaving around people as he kept an eye on where the seats separated.

After what felt like forever as the knots in his stomach twisted he recognized Ephemer as the boy stood towards the front of the section, a few newcomers with him as well. He waved them off, pointing to a row or two that had free seats, a few fellow Unicornis stood up and waved for the newcomers that were headed their way.

Ephemer turned and smiled brightly. “Sora! Hope you didn’t get lost.”

“I walked with Neku.”

“Great! I know he can be a bit quiet, but he really is a nice guy. Don’t be afraid to ask him for help. So as you noticed the whole school is here.” Ephemer smiled kindly at one of the elementary aged students. “The seating arrangement is by grade group, that way the younger kids don’t have to stand or jump to see around the older students. The high-school aged students are in the very back there. I think I see a free seat near Neku, not really a surprise there.”

Sora followed his line of sight and found Neku leaning back in a chair, looking bored. “All right, thanks Ephemer.”

Ephemer clapped him on the shoulder. “No problem. After the ceremony, I will be gathering up the first years and new students to explain the festival. We’ll meet back up here at the end okay? Don’t get swept away by the crowd rushing to leave the auditorium.”

“Right.”

Sora began making his way down the aisle, as Ephemer turned his attention to another person. Sora tried not to glance at anyone in particular, not wanting to make any enemies on the first day. Then again knowing his luck Vanitas had already made some enemies and they wouldn’t be able to tell the two boys apart. Despite the fact that Vanitas had their mother’s black hair and Sora took after their father.

As he approached where Neku was he glanced back another row and saw a boy with silver hair. Sea-green eyes looked up suddenly and locked intensely with Sora’s. Sora felt his heart begin to beat rapidly at the intensity of that gaze. He was so caught off guard by the sudden interaction that he didn’t notice the chair that he tripped over as he reached the row.

Sora felt his face heat up as a few of the people around him started laughing as he quickly got back up, with a bit more stumbling over chairs. He righted the chairs and quickly sat next to Neku, sliding down into his seat to hide from as many prying eyes as he could face bright red in embarrassment. He was at least glad that Neku didn’t say anything, or even make a show that he had seen what happened.

He risked a quick, hopefully, subtle glance back at the boy from before. Sea-green eyes still watch him with the same intensity, and Sora wasn’t sure why. He quickly turned back towards the front and tried to make himself even smaller. The first day on campus and he had already made himself the laughing stock of the school. He would never be able to live this down, especially with Vanitas as his brother.

~

Since there was still some time before the Headmaster made his speech, Naminé decided to sit on the grass outside the auditorium and draw. She used her knees to prop up her sketchbook as she doodled various students who were also delaying going inside the crowded hall. While humming a soft tune, she glanced up from her notebook to see another girl from her House walking by with an unsure look on her face. She wore the Leopardos uniform of a black skirt and ribbon tie with a yellow blazer and had short, cute black hair. With all the people watching and sketching that she did, Namine was sure she hadn’t seen this girl before, and she seemed lost. With a smile, she decided to close her sketchbook, slide it into her bag, and stood up to greet this new girl.

“Hello,” Naminé said with a warm smile, “You look a bit lost. Are you new to the school?” She asked, holding her hands up in front of her with her fingers loosely laced together.

The black haired girl turned and offered her own smile in response. “Oh, yes I am. My name is Xion, and… I seem to have lost my roommate on my way here. She was supposed to show me where to go.”

“I’m Naminé,” she replied, tucking some of her blond hair behind her ear. “We could go together if you want.”

“Thank you.” Xion’s smile brightened and the two of them began to walk into the auditorium. “This place is so big. It almost feels more like a city than a school.”

Naminé laughed softly, “I suppose it kind of is. The lower sections of the islands have shops and parks and even some houses for the families of the younger children. It’s not so bad once you get used to it.”

When they entered the hall it was already packed with students, and it seemed like finding a place to sit was going to be difficult. Luckily Lauriam was directing other Leopardos members quickly and efficiently to free chairs. He noticed Xion and Naminé and smiled in greeting, “Ah, good day, Xion. I see you’ve met one of our most talented artists. Her drawings are magic.”

“Oh, you draw?” Xion asked and turned to her new friend in excitement.

Naminé’s face turned pink and she turned her eyes away in embarrassment. “I’m not that good…”

“Nonsense.” Lauriam ushered the two girls to some open seats at the end of the row. “I mean no insult when I say seeing what she can do with pencil and paper is just short of witchcraft. Why don’t you show Xion some of your work while we wait for the ceremony to start? Should be any minute now.” With that, he winked and left them to help some more first years to their seats.

Xion watched the Prefect go before she turned her attention to Naminé. “You don’t have to show me if you don’t want to, but… I would like to see it.”

The blond girl hesitated, but Xion’s smile was so sweet and sincere that she felt it would be okay to show maybe one or two drawings. Placing her bag on her lap, she took out her sketchbook again and opened it to a random page in the middle. The drawing was of an iron gate set in the middle of a forest. The brick walls to either side of the gate were covered in ivy, and inside the gate, an eerie manor stood like a shadow in the background. “This is from my hometown.” She explained as Xion stared in wonder. “It’s an old, abandoned mansion deep in the woods on the outskirts of the city. Most people find it scary, but for some reason, I felt relaxed whenever I went there. It’s closed off from the noise of the city, so I always found it a peaceful place to go and find inspiration to draw.”

“It’s amazing,” Xion said, in awe of the detail Naminé had carefully added to the piece to make it feel almost alive. “It seems like the perfect place to bring a book and read.”

“You like books?” Naminé asked curiously.

Xion nodded, but before she could respond further a hush fell over the auditorium suddenly as the Heads of House took the stage. Each wore a suit or dress suit in the color schemes of their respective House, making it easy for new students to tell who their own Head was.

Master Ira, being Head of Unicornis and therefore the next highest ranked under Master Luxuria, stepped up to the podium and waited for the noise to completely die down before he began to speak. “Good morning, dear students old and new. Before we hear from our Headmaster, who has some words of encouragement for the new term, I would first like to welcome you all to another wonderful year at Scala ad Caelum. We hope you see this place as more than just a school, but also a second home. No matter if you are Unicornis, Anguis, Ursus, Vulpes, or Leopardos we hope you find a family here amongst your peers. Now, without further adieu, please welcome the Headmaster of Scala ad Caelum, Master Xantas Superbia.”

The auditorium was filled with obligatory applause as Ira stepped back from the podium and the Headmaster strolled onto the stage with his hands held behind his back. His long strides brought him quickly to center stage, and just as he turned to face the crowd the sun peeked through the clouds and blinded Naminé and Xion. Both girls held their hands up to try to block the light that streamed through the windows behind the Master, but even then he only looked like a black silhouette from this distance.

“Friends!” The Headmaster began, raising his arms out beside him and gesturing to the crowd as he continued, “students, teachers, and everyone in between. Today marks the beginning of a new chapter.” he moved so one hand was now held behind his back with the other raised in front of him, which he moved near constantly for emphasis as he spoke. “For some, it’s a fresh start, for others it’s a continuation of their journey. Whether you walk the path fate lays out for you, or forge your own way forward, Scala ad Caelum aims to help unlock your heart’s true potential.” He placed one hand over his heart as he spoke. “Some of you may not see that potential just yet, you may even feel out of place or like you don’t belong, but if you trust your heart and work hard I promise you’ll see what lies deep within.” He paused, possibly for dramatic effect.

Xion leaned towards Naminé and whispered, “Is he always like this?”

The blond girl nodded, resisting the urge to giggle. “You’ll get used to it.”

“Now,” Master Superbia continued and clapped his hands together. “I think I’ve talked your ears off for long enough. All of you must be eager to begin your adventure here, so I leave you with this. May your heart be your guiding key.” Again he held his hand over his heart and then took a step back from the podium. The crowd applauded again, with even some enthusiastic whistling this time. As the Headmaster turned to leave the stage, the sun disappeared again to the relief of the students watching.

“Now what do we do?” Xion asked as the students around them began to stand and shuffle out of the auditorium with the guidance of the Prefects and Heads of House.

“Well, now we have some free time to do what we want. Did you see the tables being set up outside? Those are for all the different clubs we have so they can recruit new members. If you want… we could walk around together and maybe find one you might like?” Naminé invited in a shy, uncertain voice.

Xion gave her a reassuring smile. “Sure, that sounds fun.”

Naminé smiled brightly and stood up to leave with her new friend following close behind. She felt optimistic for the new semester and hoped it would last the year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alice: So, since MoM's name hasn't been revealed to us yet, we decided to give him one ourselves. Since the other six Apprentices are named after the Latin words for the seven deadly sins, we decided to give the Master the name of "Superbia". Bonus points to who can get how we got "Xantas".
> 
> ~
> 
> Kyuun-chan: Glad you are enjoying this so far (Ieris). I hope we don't disappoint (Alice)!

**Author's Note:**

> Ieris: I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.  
> Alice: We're having fun so far, and we hope you are too!
> 
> Tidbits about the story:
> 
> 1\. Xigbar Luxuria - Since Xigbar is Luxu from Ⲭ(Chi) we decided to use Luxuria (The deadly sin Luxu is named after) for Xigbar's last name. 
> 
> 2\. Houses - Since it's a boarding school we decided to go with houses for the dormitories. Each house is run by one of the five/six (in the case of Vulpes) new Union Leaders chosen by Ava and each has its own traits and skills it looks for in their students. Unicornis - Leadership - Ephemer, Anguis - Academic - Skuld, Ursus - Athletics - Ventus, Leopardus - Artistic - Lauriam, and Vulpes - Mixed - Strelitzia/Brain.
> 
> 3\. Grade Levels - The school does span as mentioned through pre-school to twelfth grade and there are many more students then we will focus on, they are mostly just background characters but span several Final Fantasy games to add flavor and make up for the lack of FF in KH3.


End file.
